. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, what do the numbers tell us about the true state of the labor market? we get an assessment. >> woodruff: then, gwen ifill reports on missouri's senate contest where the democratic incumbent has unexpectedly grabbed the lead. >> this the united states senate. mark shields an david brooks >> brown: mark shields and david brooks analyze the weeks news. >> woodruff: and ray suarez previews another political match to watch, thousands of miles south in venezuela, where long- time leader hugo chavez faces a young challenger. >> the election marks a watershed moment for the world's second largest oil producing nation. and a critical supplier of crude oil to the u.s. its number one customer. woodruff: t >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: carnegie corp >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public b